Russian commentator walks out midway through match, live on air

One Russian commentator became so incensed by witnessing a succession of poor refereeing decisions that he was left with no option but to abandon his microphone live on air.

Covering the recent second-tier match between Tekstilshchik Ivanovo and Torpedo Vladimir, commentator Vladimir Nikolsky was initially irked when the referee refused to award a penalty for a blatant foul in the area.

With the score locked a 1-1, the Tekstilshchik goalkeeper brought down a Torpedo striker inside his 18-yard line only for the referee to give a free-kick outside the box instead.

The resulting set-piece was then handled inside the area by a Tekstilshchik defender, only for the ref to once again turn a blind eye.

It was at this point that the injustice became too much for commentator Nikolsky, who branded the official a "disgrace to Russian football" before removing his headphones and storming out of the gantry.

"I become emotional when I see that our team is being hurt," Nikolsky told Russian broadcasters RT after the final whistle.

The match went on to finish 1-1, with Torpedo -- who hire Nikolsky to cover their matches as part of Russian league rules -- confirming that they will not be punishing their commentator for walking out.

"He is not just an employee of the club, but a fan like me," said fan club president Valery Puzanov.

"If Nikolsky is punished, the club and the fans will support him. He did everything right."

Chris covers the funny side of the game for ESPN FC in the Toe Poke blog.